It took me a couple of seasons to figure out what footwear to use on Baja beaches. It was two painful seasons. After a long winter my soft Canadian feet screamed out when sand got in my shoes. It migrated from the ankles down to the toes and chafed them severely. If you are only fishing for an hour or two or are fairly stationary no problem, you can get by with almost any type of footwear: water sport sandals or crocs with neoprene socks or barefoot. The same goes if you are riding on a four wheeler (quad) all day, as most beach anglers chasing rooster fish do. However, if you are out all day walking and covering great distances for a week or more, then good footwear is a must. You need shoes that help keep the sand out. Of course, you'll never keep it all out. Some sand always gets in when you are hiking up and down dunes, sprinting after a fish, or charging into the surf to get within casting range. It is all a matter of how much gets in. If it is too much your feet really suffer.
On my second season in Baja I tried out a rubberised skin tight water shoe, something a scuba diver would wear. After hiking all day I discovered they were jamming and lifting the nails off of my big toes. The next day I changed to a different shoe but the damage was done. I completely lost one nail when running on the beach and a day or so later the other one lifted and flapped up and down when I entered the water. The exposed flesh was gory looking: think watermelon red and soft. Everything stuck to it: socks, sand, small shells, sea weed fibers, dirt, etc. It was an infection waiting to happen! And it stung. After a couple of days fishing this way and having a wandering Mexican dog track me down and lick one of my toes, I decided it was time to head to a small government medical clinic in the nearby village of La Ribera.
There was a female Doctor on duty and a nurse. Both were friendly. I later found out the nurse was the Doctor's mother. Something like that could only happen in a small town. Somehow we communicated even with my poor Spanish and their limited English and my toe situation was quite obvious. In about 30 minutes they cleaned my damaged toes thoroughly by repeated rinsing and cleaning grit with Q-tips, applying antiseptic, wrapping them in gauze and then taping them up securely. I was provided with extra gauze and tape for future maintenance. I also was given over a one week supply of antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory. I couldn't thank them enough. Following I was informed that the fee was 130 pesos, about 10 dollars US. I couldn't believe it. This is the side of Mexico never reported in the media.
Due to the care I received I was able to carry on with my fishing trip. I re-wrapped my big toes every morning with white gauze and tape and this is what they looked like at the end of day...
The next season I purchased bonefish sneakers from Cabelas and they were great. I have used them every year since. They are comfortable and keep a lot of the sand out. With 12 days of continuous fishing my feet still take a beating but with the flats sneakers it is manageable. Simms and Orvis now make a similar product.
